Library

The Saltire Centre is home to the GCU library. Described by The Guardian as “rewriting the design book for academic libraries”, the library has superb resources, with hundreds of thousands of books, e-books and journals containing over 63 million articles.

Every floor of the building has a self-issue and return point. If you have any questions about the library you can visit the Library Desk which is open seven days a week. From here you can get help using the library and using the digital resources available to students at GCU. With over 1,200 study spaces there’s always plenty of room. Designed to provide the best possible study environment the variety of spaces – from lively interaction areas, ideal for group work, to quieter and silent study spaces – ensures you can always find the right location, whatever you’re doing.

There are 350 computers in the library and you can use your own laptop, smartphone or tablet throughout the building on our wi-fi network. There are also 100 notebooks available to borrow.

Our librarians can make a real difference to your study too. Specialist subject librarians can tell you about library services, help you find information for coursework and dissertations, and show you how to use and access databases and electronic journals and books. A wide variety of services and support are available via the library website.

The library also houses an impressive collection of Archives and Special Collections. The subject strengths are the Scottish Labour and Trades Union Movement, Scottish social work, social policy and child welfare, and Scottish social enterprise. The collections also house the records of the University and its parent bodies (dating back to 1875 and the formation of the Glasgow School of Cookery).